The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in Mpumalanga calls on the public to be more conservative in their water use and use the available water sparingly, as dam levels drop below 85% in the province.
The latest weekly status of dam levels report shows that the average dam levels dropped from 85.1% to 84.0%. The report also shows a decrease in the Water Management Areas (WMA) and the districts. The Olifants WMA dropped from 77.0% to 76.0% and Inkomati-Usuthu WMA dropped from 86.9% to 85.9%. In terms of the districts, Ehlanzeni dropped from 85.2% to 83.6%, Gert Sibande from 83.4% to 82.6%, and Nkangala from 87.7% to 86.7%.
Longmere Dam in the Lowveld in the Ehlanzeni District is the only listed dam that recorded an improvement, increasing from 76.6% to 81.9%. The rest of the listed dams in the Mpumalanga Province recorded drops in water volumes.
The listed dams that recorded declines in the Lowveld and Ehlanzeni District include Blyderivierpoort from 76.6% to 74.3%, Buffelskloof from 63.6% to 60.3%, Driekoppies from 92.7% to 91.6%, Klipkopjes from 83.6% to 80.1%, Witklip from 82.1% to 80.5%, Primkop from 44.9% to 40.6%, Kwena from 79.9% to 77.4%, Da Gama from 87.8% to 87.3%, Inyaka from 88.7% to 87.4%, and Ohrigstad from 29.9% to 27.0%.
All the listed dams in Gert Sibande District recorded drops in water volumes, with Grootdraai dropping from 76.0% to 75.0%, Nooitgedacht from 79.2% to 78.9%, Vygeboom from 96.9% to 95.8%, Jericho from 74.0% to 73.1%, Westoe from 36.0% to 35.9%, Morgenstond from 74.5% to 71.5%, and Heyshope from 97.2% to 97.0%.
The decrease also continues in the Nkangala District with Witbank Dam dropping from 91.0% to 90.2%, Middelburg Dam from 84.3% to 83.4%, Loskop Dam from 88.5% to 87.0%, and Rhenosterkop Dam from 85.5% to 85.0%.
The Department reminds the public that South Africa is a water-scarce country and urges residents to prevent water losses by fixing and reporting water leaks, while using water sparingly.
For more information:
Dr Mandla Mathebula
South African government
Sedibeng Building,
185 Francis Baard Street,
PRETORIA, South Africa
Tel: +27 83 235 8675
Tel: +27 800 200 200
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.gov.za
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